Types of Tillage:

A) Conventional tillage or Traditional tillage:

• refers to different types of tillage operations performed before, during and after field preparation for seeding, transplanting and cultivating the crops.
• The soil is opened with MB plough for primary tillage.
• Disc harrows, cultivators, blade harrows etc. are used for secondary tillage.

B) Modern concept of tillage or Conservation Tillage

• Modern concept of tillage is developed by emphasizing minimal cultivation.
• Under this system of tillage sowing operations are carried out with little disturbance to the crop
• Considering the time loss for tillage operations, minimum and zero tillage have been developed and this concept is together known as conservation tillage.
• The objective of conservation tillage is to reduce the loss of soil, water, plant nutrients etc.
• According to this concept a large amount of organic residue should be left in the soil surface to increase the organic matter content in the soil which helps to protect the soil surface from the beating action of rain drops, increase the infiltration of water, improve the soil structure and maintained the soil fertility and productivity also.
• This system is frequently referred to as stubble mulching, eco-fallow, limited tillage, reduced tillage, minimum tillage, no tillage, conservation tillage, direct drill etc.

Advantages of conventional tillage

1. Deep ploughing turns out large sized clods when it is done in summer, which is baked by the hot sun. These clods crumble due to alternate heating and cooling.
2. Summer deep ploughing kills pests due to exposure of pupae to hot sun.
3. Deep tillage also improves the soil moisture content of the soil.
4. The plant residues protect the soil against the beating action of rain drops, keep the surface of the soil open and increase the infiltration of water compared to a bare soil.

Disadvantages

1. In conventional tillage system the soil is subjected to wind and water erosion because only about 15% organic residues are left on the field surface.
2. The timing of operation is too difficult to meet the requirements and costs of energy and labour are too high and in most of the cases it is uneconomical.
3. Hard pans formation may take place in the soil by the continuous use of heavy implements, which restrict root growth of crop.
4. The heavy loss of soil, water and plant nutrients takes place in conventional tillage compared to conservation tillage.